Furnace



Mar. 27, 192,3l l

I l j IVVENTOR.. /CL

FURNACE www QQQKN 1&5 H,

'l E. 'KUPA' Filed Nov. e, 1922 fa. 6de .LM

ATTORNEYS` Patented Mar. 27, 1923..

was@ r..l

EMIL KUPA, OF DUISBERG, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO THE BABCOC @n WILCOX COM- PANY, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW J'IEIRISEFX.Y

FURNAOE.

Application filed November 6, 1922. Serial No. 599,480.

To a'ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, EMIL KUrA, a citizen of the Republic .of Germany, residing .at

Neudorfers'trassa 32, Duisberg, Prussia, Germany, have invented ,certain new and useful Improvements in Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention rela-tes to improvements in furnaces whereby fuel with a considerable moisture content may be economically burned. My invention will be best .understood from the following description and the annexed drawing in which is shown a section of an illustrative embodiment of my invention. In the illustrative form, 10 is a combustion chamber beneath a boiler having tubes 11 and .provided `with a chain grate 12 of the usual type to which fuel is fed from a hopper 13, mechanism being provided, as is usual, to move the chain so that the upper runthereof will carry the fuel from' the hopper 13 toward-the combustion chamber.

At the forward'part of the chain grate is" a combustion arch 14 provided with a fuel gate 15 operable from the exterior of the furnace by a screw and nut arrangement 16. The usual fuel-feeding gate 17 is provided to limit the amount of fuel passing from the hopper 13 to the grate.

Through the top of the combustion arch is an opening 18 connectingr with a flue 19, the flue 19 communicating through an outlet 20 with the space above the fuel on the grate 12 held between the gates 15 and 17. The outlet 20 may be provided with a damper 23. Below this space is a draft box 21, at one side of which is connected an outlet pipe 22 which may be connected to any suitable draft-inducing device, such as the combustionchamber 10, the chimney to which the Waste gases from the combustion chamber is led. or a fan. On the links.l of the grate 12 are pivotally mounted dampers 23. Which dampers are arranged to slide on the side edges of the box 21. or to be otherwise so related thereto as to partially seal the space between the sides of the draft box 21 and the upper run of the grate.

lVhen the illustrative device is in use, the suction through the pipe 22 draws hot furnace gases ldown through the portion of the fuel between thegates 15 and 17. such gases passing from the space beneath the combustion arch 14 through the opening 18 and the ducts 19 and 20. The volume of tnese gases may be controlled by the damper 23. These hot gases serve to dry the fuel and to preheat it so that, as it passes beneath the gate linto the combustion space of the furnace, it will ignite readily. The gate 15 may be regulated so that the fuel in the drying space betweenthe gates 15 and 17 can be held back until it has become sufliciently dry for ignition, the amount of fuel being held in this space being determined by the relative opening of the gates 17 and 15.

It will be seen that the gate or valve 15 servesto divide the grate surface into a combustion area and a drying area, the valve 15 forming one side of a drying chamber through which hot gases may be drawn to dry the fuel on the drying area of the grate. By regulating the height of the gate 15, the

amount of dry fuel passing to the combus-I tion area may be controlled, while, at the same time, the contact between the bottom of the gate 15 and the fuel bed tends to prefvent the interchange of air and gas currents between the combustion and drying areas of the grate, though, of course, the seal between these two areas is not an absolute one.

It will be understood that the form which I have shown is merely illustrative, and that the embodiments may be varied over wide limits.

I claim:

1. In a furnace, a grate. fuel-feeding means therefor. including a fuel-regulating valve, a fuel-retarding valve spaced from the regulating valve, and means to pass heated gases from the combustion chamber of the furnace through the fuel between the valves.

2. 'In a furnace. a grate, a pair of valves spaced apart along the front end of the grate to form a drying chamber therebetween and arranged to permit a regulated amount of fuel to pass to the combustion portion of the grate, and means to pass heated furnace gases through the fuel in said chamber.

. 3. In a furnace. a. grate. a. pair of valves spaced apart along the front end of the grate to form adrying chamber therebetween and arranged to permit a regulated amount of fuel to pass to the combustion portion of the grate. the valve nearest said combustion portion of the grate being arranged to retard the fuel to hold it in said drying chamber, and means to pass heated furnace gases through the fuel in said chamber.

drying area and a fuel-combustion area, said grate'beingarranged' to cause the fuel to pass from the drying area to the` combus- 'tion area, a valve to regulate the passage of `the fuel from the drying, area to the combustion area, and means to pass heated furnace gases through the fuel on'said drying area..

5. In a furnace, .a grate, fuel-feeding means,

-th'erefor, including a fuel-regulating valve, a fuel-retarding valve spaced from the regnlating valve, and means to pass hea-ted gases from the combustion chamber of the furnace through the fuel between the valves and the .portion of the grate on which such' fuel is supported. y

6. In a furnace, a chain grate, means to feed fuel to one end thereof, a fuel-retarding gate spaced from the fuel-feeding means, and means t'o'pass' heated furnace gases through the retarded fuel.

7 In a furnace, a chain grate, a fuel hopper^, 'a fuel-feeding valve, a fuel-retarding justable fuel gate, ase'cond'adjustable -gate` g passing heated furnace 4. In a furnace, a grate having a fuelspaced from the fuel gate to form a-drying chamber therebetween, and' means for gases through the fuel in said chamber.

9. In a furnace, a cha-in grate, fuel-feeding means at one end thereof, including an adjustable fuel gate, a second adjustable` gate spaced 'from .the fuel gate to form a drying chamber therebetween, and means to pass heated furnace gases downward through the portion of the'grate beneath said drying chamber and the fuel thereon.

10. In -a furnace, a chain grate, a combustion arch over a portion thereof, a fuel- .retarding valve atthe front of-the arch, a

and spaced from thevfuel-retarding valve to form a driving chamber therebetween, and means to draw heated gases from the space beneath the combustion arch downward through the fuel in said drying chamber.'

l1. In a furnace, a chain grate having a fuel-drying area and a fuel-combustion area,

a. vvalve to regulate the flow of fuel from the drying area to thecombustion area, and,

the drying area to the combustion area, and means for passing heated Afurnace gases in regulated amounts through the fuel on saidv drying area.

' EMIL KUPA.

:ior

fuel-feeding valveatfthe front of the grate I 

